Missouri Governor Jay Nixon delivers the State of the State speech to the legislature in the House of Represenatives chambers at the Statre Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri on January 19, 2011. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

UPI/Bill Greenblatt

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – The Missouri Department of Revenue faces questions today in a House hearing about allegations it’s sharing information on concealed carry applicants with the federal government.

House Republicans and Lt. Governor Peter Kinder allege the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is getting a list of people seeking concealed gun permits in Missouri.

Republican Representative Todd Richardson of Poplar Bluff says the House Government Oversight committee has some questions.

“We want to find out from the department what they’re doing with people’s private information and who they’re sharing that with,” Richardson said.

Richardson was asked if he knows of any direct evidence the data is being shared with the Department of Homeland Security.

“We’ve had anecdotal reports,” Richardson said, “I have not had anybody that has told me they have concrete evidence that that’s the case.”

Last week, Republican Representative Casey Guernsey of Bethany told reporters he has “an anonymous source working with a Revenue Department licence office in his district” that the information is being sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

Ahead of today’s testimony, the Deputy Director of the Department of Revenue, John Mollenkamp, says he understands no information is being forwarded to the federal government. Mollenkamp says the scanned data is being sent to a third-party vendor because printers used for licenses are too costly for the state to own.

Republican lawmakers say the Department of Revenue has no statutory authority to share a list of concealed carry permit applicants with any outside entity because the law requires anonymity and privacy for concealed carry permit holders.

In a related story, a judge in Stoddard County is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday morning filed by a man who alleges his local fee office attempted to scan his personal information when he applied for a concealed carry permit. Judge Robert Mayer issued a temporary restraining order to prohibit the scanning of such data.